In a shocking turn of events, India’s star gymnast Dipa Karmakar has been slapped with a 21-month ban after failing a dope test conducted by the International Testing Agency (ITA), an independent organisation that manages the anti-doping programme of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).
The development comes after Indian officials previously claimed that the suspension she was serving was not for doping. Dipa Karmakar’s dope sample was collected out-of-competition by the ITA on October 11, 2021. She tested positive for higenamine (S3. Beta-2 Agonists as per the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list).
The suspension will remain for 21 months and is already in effect from the day of the sample collected – October 11, 2021. It means the suspension will last until July 2023, during which she can’t be an active participant in any gymnastic-related activities on the global stage for India.
“The ITA confirms that Dipa Karmakar has been suspended for a 21-month period, effective until 10 July 2023 after testing positive for higenamine (S3. Beta-2 Agonists as per the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list),” said the ITA in a statement.
“The positive sample was collected on behalf of the FIG in the scope of an out-of-competition control on 11 October 2021. The athlete’s results have been disqualified from October 11, 2021 onwards,” added the statement from the ITA.
The ITA, leading an independent anti-doping program for @gymnastics, reports that Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar has been sanctioned with a 21-month period of ineligibility after testing positive for the prohibited substance higenamine.
▶️ https://t.co/SohYXJbV2r pic.twitter.com/a2fg2qNszV
— International Testing Agency (@IntTestAgency) February 3, 2023
In a response to the ban, Dipa Karmakar has said that she has accepted provisional suspension. She, however, claimed that she “unknowingly ingested” the prohibited substance.
“…I unknowingly ingested and could not determine the source of (the banned substance). I decided to take a provisional suspension with the hope of a swift resolution with the international federation,” Dipa Karmakar wrote on her Twitter handle.
— Dipa Karmakar (@DipaKarmakar) February 4, 2023
Events that Dipa Karmakar will miss:
Dipa Karmakar, who became a household name after her historic exploits at the 2016 Rio Olympics, will fortunately not miss the next Olympics scheduled to be held in Paris. She will have the time to prepare for the next edition of the Olympics.
But in the mean time, she will miss out on the Apparatus World Cup Series tournaments (Cottbus, Doha, Baku, and Cairo) as well as at least three of the six World Challenge Cup Series. She could make her return to action through the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp in October. The same event will also serve as the qualification for the Paris Olympics.